The Super Bowl has already seen a number of forms of wearables that improve the experience for fans and athletes.
The NFL isn’t alone in its use of wearable technology for a number of different purposes, but Super Bowl Sunday has certainly shown that these devices are having an increasingly meaningful impact on the experience of the athletes, their teams, and even the fans.
Various types of mobile technology are having a growing influence on the sport as it never has before.
This most recent Super Bowl has represented a whole new era of football through wearable technology. The gadgets used range from on-field tracking to enhanced safety and injury protection. Tactical HUDs boosted the ability to accurately strategize. These tech additions were not only important for ensuring that coaches would be able to monitor the players on the field and get the most out of their performance, but it also provided fans with game insights that have never before been available.
Fans and coaches, alike, have been gaining useful and fascinating stats through the use of wearable technology.
There are a number of different types of wearables that are currently topping the list when it comes to football. They include the following:
• GoPro – a number of teams, including the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Bengals, have started working with these “player cam” POV from their head gear to give coaches and fans a better concept of how the game looks from the perspective of the player. In fact, GoPro has now signed up as an official partner to the NHL, it’s first major sports league partnership.
• Catapult trackers – these are GPS trackers about the size of a small smartphone that are worn on the back of a player using a chest harness (although some teams have special pockets sewn right into the backs of their training shirts. About a quarter of NFL franchises are currently using them, as are 10 college teams. The purpose is to help to prevent injuries by making it possible for coaches to monitor key data and make improved game rotation and practice schedule decisions.
• Reebok CheckLight – this wearable technology is produced along with the MC10 tech company. It is a skullcap that is meant to help to prevent the most dangerous injury in the sport, concussions. It captures head impact data in real time during game play and provides feedback through a light system. Green lights mean low impact, yellow represents a moderate hit, and red means that a heavy impact was sustained. The device also indicates when it would be a good idea for a player to receive a medical check before heading back out to play.